In a disturbing incident, a 14-year-old girl was reportedly handed over by her parents to a stranger in exchange for £4,000 and five bottles of whiskey. The shocking case came to light when the young girl was seen begging outside a supermarket in western Catalonia, prompting police intervention.
Law enforcement officials in Spain have arrested five individuals following an alleged agreement between the girl’s parents and another couple who sought to arrange a marriage between their son and the underage girl. The parents purportedly received €5,000, five bottles of whiskey, and provisions from the couple in Catalonia in return for selling their daughter.
The young girl was allegedly forced into a marriage by the purchasing family, who restricted her from attending school and compelled her to beg for money. Police discovered her situation outside a supermarket in Les Borges Blanques, Western Catalonia, suspecting she was subjected to a cultural practice without legal standing in Spain.
The 35-year-old parents, the couple who “purchased” the girl (aged 40 and 42), and their 20-year-old son, who reportedly married the girl, were all apprehended. Three suspects were held on suspicion of human trafficking and were prohibited from contacting the victim pending further investigations.
Despite being released from custody for ongoing inquiries, the suspects remain under scrutiny. Reports suggest that the teenager has chosen to reunite with her family and does not view herself as a victim of the crime.
This incident follows a separate case where a mother, her boyfriend, and an accomplice were sentenced to life imprisonment for kidnapping and trafficking her six-year-old child for their organs. The child went missing and was allegedly sold to a traditional healer for body parts, resulting in a nationwide search and subsequent legal proceedings. Witnesses testified to the mother’s intentions of selling her children for profit, leading to the harsh sentencing of the perpetrators.
